Reviews |I dropped, soaked and drove over this LaCie SSD – it still backed up my RAW files at lightning speed

I dropped, soaked and drove over this LaCie SSD – it still backed up my RAW files at lightning speed

The fastest rugged SSD for creatives on the move

UGREEN FineTrack Slim Smart Finder
Review

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By Ali Jennings

Price when reviewed

£379

$379
Check current price

Our Verdict

I’ve been using Lacie Rugged drives for years and have a stack of the bright orange units sat on a shelf. This latest iteration, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5, builds the trusted durability of the now iconic drive, and now, with IP68 certification and Thunderbolt 5 speeds of up to 6,700MB/s read and 5,300MB/s write, it reaffirms its place as the most desirable portable storage for photographers and videographers. Its compact size and rugged design make it perfect for anyone working with large RAW files and high-resolution video. Backward compatibility with USB-C and Thunderbolt 3/4 also ensures versatility, while its shockproof, dustproof, and waterproof construction means it can handle life out in the field and is built to withstand almost any conditions.

While the switch from orange to blue is a nod to LaCie’s original branding, the orange was also extremely practical for visibility in packed kit bags; I’m not so taken with this new colour scheme. The drive is also smaller than previous generations, although this form factor has been seen from Lacie before. Again, a lanyard loop would have been useful, as would a sticker-friendly surface. Despite these minor design drawbacks, this is one of the best options for creative professionals who need fast, durable, and reliable storage.

For

  • IP68-rated durability
  • Ultra-fast transfer speeds
  • Compact and portable

Against

  • No label surface
  • No lanyard loop
  • USB port uncovered

What is the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5?

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is a high-performance, ultra-durable portable SSD designed for professional photographers and videographers who need fast, reliable storage in challenging environments. What makes this drive stand out is that it is one of the first portable SSDs to support the Thunderbolt 5 interface, which enables it to deliver some of the fastest transfer speeds I’ve ever seen for a portable drive.

The drive has been designed for on-location work. It features a compact, rubberised shell that provides shock, dust, and water resistance, so you can be sure wherever you are, it will be able to handle demanding shoots in extreme conditions. The drive is available in 2TB and 4TB capacities and is aimed at professionals working with large RAW photo libraries and high-resolution video footage. While not a budget option, its combination of speed, durability, and reliability makes it a great choice if you require high-performance storage.

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Specification

  • Capacity: 2TB, 4TB
  • Interface: Thunderbolt 5 (backward compatible with USB-C, Thunderbolt 3 & 4)
  • Read Speed: Up to 6,700MB/s
  • Write Speed: Up to 5,300MB/s
  • Dimensions: 17 × 65 × 98mm
  • Weight: 150g
  • Durability: IP68 (waterproof, dustproof, shockproof, 2-tonne pressure resistance)
  • Software: LaCie Toolkit backup software, Rescue Data Recovery Services

Build and Handling

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 continues the familiar rugged design but swaps the iconic orange rubber shell for blue. While the blue is a nod to LaCie’s branding, the orange had a practical advantage—it was easier to spot in a camera bag or low-light environment. Despite this colour change, the build quality remains excellent, with a durable rubberised exterior that enhances grip and impact protection.

One of the notable changes with these drives, as they’ve swapped from HDD to SSD, is size and weight, weighing just 150g and measuring 17 × 65 × 98mm, ensuring that the drive is small and lightweight enough to easily slip into a pocket or bag. The IP68 rating means it’s fully dustproof and waterproof to a depth of 1.5m for up to 30 minutes, so if you do get stuck in unexpected weather or drop it into a stream, then it should survive. It’s also rated to survive drops of up to 3m and withstand pressure of up to 2 tonnes, making it one of the toughest portable SSDs available.

UGREEN FineTrack Slim Smart Finder

One small downside is the lack of a lanyard loop, which would have been useful for attaching it to a bag or belt. The rubberised surface also makes it difficult to attach labels, which can be frustrating when managing multiple drives in a workflow.

Features

The standout feature of the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is its Thunderbolt 5 connectivity, which delivers ultra-fast transfer speeds. When connected to a compatible device, it offers read speeds of up to 6,700MB/s and write speeds of up to 5,300MB/s, making it one of the fastest portable SSDs on the market. While these speeds are only fully achievable on the latest M4 Macs, the drive is backward compatible with USB-C and Thunderbolt 3/4, ensuring wide usability across different devices.

The rugged design is another major highlight, with the IP68 rating providing protection against dust, water, and drops, making it ideal if you’re a photographer or a videographer and you often work in harsh environments. The drive is also built with 45% recycled materials, adding an eco-friendly element to its design.

UGREEN FineTrack Slim Smart Finder

LaCie includes its Rescue Data Recovery Services and Toolkit backup software, offering additional peace of mind for professionals handling important files. The drive is available in both 2TB and 4TB versions, providing flexible storage options for different needs and budgets.

Performance

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 delivers excellent performance, particularly if you need fast, reliable storage for large files. Used as a scratch disk for Adobe Lightroom, Capture One, and Final Cut Pro, the drive kept up with internal SSD speeds, allowing smooth playback of high-resolution 4K and 8K video captured on  my Canon EOS R5C. Likewise when it came to editing there were no issues with storing and editing 50MP RAW files. Essentially out in the field the speed and durability of the drive was superb, and the huge internal 2TB was more than enough to store huge amounts of image and video files that I was able to quickly back-up in the field.
Benchmark tests confirmed its impressive speed:
TestRead (MB/s)Write (MB/s)
Blackmagic Disk Speed Test3518.72968.1
AmorphousDiskMark3451.971795.47
AJA System Test Lite30242015
ATTO Disk Benchmark 3280 2830
While these results don’t quite reach the drive’s theoretical maximum speeds, they still place it among the fastest portable SSDs available. The major reason for this is that I only have access at present to Thunderbolt 4, but will be upgrading in the near future so will update these results. However, in real-world use, it performed exceptionally well for 8K video editing, with smooth playback and no noticeable lag.
UGREEN FineTrack Slim Smart Finder
The other major point of this drive is its durability, and as we’re just leaving the British winter, it was possible to test the drive in less-than-ideal conditions. Through the test, I left the drive in the garden through sub-zero nights, hail and rain and the drive after a dry-off worked perfectly. Likewise, being submerged in water for 30 minutes and run over by a car again had little effect on the drive aside from a few tyre marks. Thankfully, after both tests, the drive remained fully functional.

Final Thoughts

The LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is an excellent choice for photography professionals who need a tough, high-speed portable SSD. Its Thunderbolt 5 interface offers best-in-class speeds, making it ideal for photographers and videographers working with large files.

UGREEN FineTrack Slim Smart Finder

I found that the rugged, waterproof, and shockproof design really could stand up to rigorous testing and should ensure reliability in the field, whether you’re shooting in a studio, on location, or in extreme conditions.

While the switch from orange to blue is more of an aesthetic change, it does make the drive slightly harder to spot in a busy kit bag. The lack of a lanyard loop and label-friendly surface are minor inconveniences, but they don’t detract from the drive’s overall performance and durability.
For professionals who need ultra-fast, rugged storage, the LaCie Rugged SSD Pro5 is one of the best options available.